The Scouring of the Shire
"The Scouring of the Shire" is the penultimate chapter of the Wikipedia:epic fantasy Wikipedia:The Return of the King — the third volume of Wikipedia:The Lord of the Rings by Wikipedia:J. R. R. Tolkien. The Wikipedia:hobbits of the fellowship return to Wikipedia:the Shire to find that it has been despoiled by ruffians and corrupt hobbits led by the Chief Shirrif, Lotho, and Sharkey — the refugee wizard Wikipedia:Saruman. The author denied that the chapter was an Wikipedia:allegory of the state of Britain at that time it was written — 1949, the aftermath of World War II. The chapter had been planned from the beginning and, instead, drew on Tolkien's childhood at the end of the 19th century: Chapter summary In the final volume of the story, the five travellers (Wikipedia:Gandalf, the wizard, and Wikipedia:Hobbits Wikipedia:Frodo Baggins, Wikipedia:Samwise Gamgee, Wikipedia:Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Wikipedia:Peregrin Took) stay overnight at Wikipedia:The Prancing Pony in Bree where they catch up on the last year's local events with proprietor Wikipedia:Barliman Butterbur. They learn that thuggish strangers from the South have settled in and around Bree, much to the discomfort of the peace-loving Men and Hobbits indigenous to the region. Barliman is impressed to discover that Strider has been crowned King of Wikipedia:Gondor. Gandalf parts ways with the Hobbits on their way to the Shire, to talk with Wikipedia:Tom Bombadil, and assures the four that their experiences in the Wikipedia:War of the Ring will be sufficient to settle the troubles. Finding their compatriots tyrannized by the southern invaders, they rouse the Shire and expel the occupiers. With the assistance of Farmer Cotton, Merry and Pippin lead the Wikipedia:Battle of Bywater, the last battle in the War of the Ring, in which 19 Hobbits die. Ultimately, the returning Hobbits find that the thugs' ringleader is the fallen wizard Wikipedia:Saruman, who has taken up residence at Frodo's former home, Wikipedia:Bag End, along with his servant Wormtongue. Though the Hobbits allow the pair to leave the Shire unharmed, Wormtongue cuts Saruman's throat; Wormtongue is in turn killed by the Hobbits, who shoot him with arrows. A column of mist arises from Saruman's corpse and is blown away in the wind, a scene reminiscent of Wikipedia:Sauron's demise. Frodo covers the suddenly shrivelled skull of Saruman and turns away. Adaptations The events of "The Scouring of the Shire" do not occur in any film adaptation of the novel to date. It is not featured in the 1980 [[Wikipedia:The Return of the King (1980 film)|animated version of The Return of the King]] and only barely referenced in the 2000s ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. The 1981 BBC The Lord of the Rings radio play has "The Scouring of the Shire" story included, during which the Shire homeland is taken over by ruffians. Like the events of the book, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin rally the Hobbits to fight against the ruffians. Ultimately, the Hobbits win The Battle of Bywater. The radio play includes the original showdown and ending in which Saruman dies by Wormtongue's knife and Wormtongue is killed by arrows in the Shire. It also tells about the murder of Lotho, and Lobelia gives Frodo and Sam back his home and money to help out the Hobbits. She later dies of old age. Then Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and the Hobbits clean up the Shire and restore it to normal. This is included in the last episode, The Grey Havens. It is the only radio adaptation to include the story of "The Scouring of the Shire" from the book. The BBC radio play is available on cassette, and on CD. In Peter Jackson's film version of Wikipedia:The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the Wikipedia:Mirror of Galadriel does foretell the Ruffians taking over the Shire as in the novel, but Galadriel tells Frodo that this is a glimpse of the future only if he should fail in his quest. Consequently, when the hobbits return home in Wikipedia:The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the Shire is unchanged. In the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Wormtongue kills Saruman (through stabbing him in the back, not slitting his throat) and is in turn killed by arrow as in the novel; however this takes place at Wikipedia:Isengard instead of the Shire and it is Wikipedia:Legolas who shoots Wormtongue. References Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * External links * The Scouring of the Shire at the Tolkien Gateway Category:JRR Tolkien Category:Lord of the Rings Category:Middle-earth events Category:Middle-earth Category:Shire (Middle-earth) Category:Fantasy books